Supreme Court Dismisses Louisiana's Appeal of Racial Gerrymandering.

June 26, 2023: The Supreme Court made a significant decision on Monday by upholding a federal court’s ruling that found racial gerrymandering in Louisiana’s congressional lines, which weakened the voting power of Black citizens in the state. This ruling follows the Supreme Court’s recent decision that upheld a crucial aspect of the Voting Rights Act.

As a result of the Supreme Court’s action, the litigation over Louisiana’s congressional map will now proceed in a lower court.

Last summer, the Supreme Court had agreed to hear Louisiana’s appeal after a district judge concluded that the state’s congressional lines were designed to dilute the voting strength of Black voters. During this time, the Supreme Court had also temporarily halted the judge’s order while considering a similar redistricting case in Alabama.

However, on Monday, the Supreme Court reversed its previous stance, lifting the stay and dismissing its decision to hear the Louisiana appeal, stating that it had taken up the case prematurely.

This decision has significant implications and serves as the first major consequence of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Alabama case, known as Allen v. Milligan, issued earlier this month. In that ruling, the court reaffirmed the Voting Rights Act provision that enables minority voters to challenge voting maps that impede their ability to elect their preferred candidates.

The Allen decision found that Alabama’s congressional lines likely violated this landmark civil rights legislation. Despite Black people constituting about one-quarter of Alabama’s population, only one out of the state’s seven congressional districts has a Black majority. This disparity was attributed to racial gerrymandering by the challengers.

On Monday, the Supreme Court’s order effectively upholds the lower court’s decision, which required Louisiana to redraw its congressional map. The case will now proceed to the 5th Circuit of Appeals, a well-known conservative appeals court that legal experts believe may approach allegations of racial vote dilution with skepticism, despite the recent Supreme Court decision.

While this case progresses at the appellate level, the Supreme Court emphasized that it should proceed “in the ordinary course and in advance of the 2024 congressional elections in Louisiana.”

Louisiana has only one congressional district with a Black majority out of its six districts, despite Black residents comprising approximately one-third of the state’s population.

The Allen decision will likely impact several other states, including Georgia and Texas. Successful challenges against vote dilution across the South could potentially bolster Democrats’ efforts to regain the majority in the House of Representatives.